Compensating device for hand-operated motion-picture projectors and the like.



C. W. EBELING.

COMPENSATING DEVICE FOR HAND OPERATED MOTIGN PICTURE PROJECTORS AND THELIKE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18. l9l6. RENEWED JAN. 19, R918.

1 %1 7 97o Patented Apr 9, R918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- Witnesses Inventor- C. W. EBELING. COMPENSATING DEVICEFOR HAND OPERATED MOTION PICTURE PROIECTORS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATIONFILED NOV. 18. ms. RENEWED JAIL-19. 191s.

gag flw Patented Apr. 9, 119m 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses Attorneys C. W. EBELING.

COMPENSATING DEVICE FOR HAND OPERATED MOTION PICTURE PROJECTORS AND THELIKE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18. 1916. RENEWED IAN. 19.1918.

1 261397. Patented Apr. 9, 1918-.

-3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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Witnesses inventor I I Attorneys pi spars i:

CHARLES W. EBELING, OF NEW YORK, N Y

COMPENSATING DEVICE FOR HAND-OPERATED MOTION-PICTURE PROJECTORS AND THELIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed November 18, 1916, Serial No. 132,122. Renewed January19, 1918. Serial No. 212,837.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. EBELING, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have inventeda new and useful Compensating Device for Hand-Operated Motion-PictureProjectors and the like, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in compensating devicesfor hand operated motion picture projectors and the like, one object ofthe present invention being the provision of means adapted to beconnected to the projector when used alone and to the projector and asound record carrier when coupled together, whereby the record of one orthe records of both machines cannot be speeded regardless of the powerexerted by the operator upon the crank, and also whereby an unsteady orintermittent actuation of the crank will be received in a power storingmeans and distributed to the I record or records at a uniform rate,there being interposed between the crank and the operating shaft, aconnection, which under normal conditions forms a connecting medium sothat the train of gears of the projeetor is properly operated to feedthe film at a desired speed, but when acted upon to speed the film, willpermit of a certain movement of the crank without accelerating the speedof the train of gears and thus prevent the moving of the vfilm beyond apredetermined speed.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a governoractuated brake device operably connected to the motor mechanism of theprojector, which determines the speed at which the film is to move andwhich if the operator attempts to speed the machine will maintain thefilm moving, at such predetermined speed, and to a' certain extent lockthe operating shaft so that the crank will move independently, to acertain degree, of the operating shaft without adding to or acceleratingthe movement of the film.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means, thatmakes it neces sary for the operator to crank the machine during itsfull projection operation, the governor actuated brake mechanism beingconcealed and locked so, as to prevent access thereto except by theperson in authority, so

that the operator of the projector mechanism cannot at any time tamperwith the same.

In many localities it is now prohibited to use an electric motor foroperating the projector, mainly for the reason that the operator becomescareless, and leaves the machine, so that should the film at any timebreak, there is a liability of starting fires due to the lamp heat uponthe stationary film. Therefore in such localities a crank actuatedprojector mechanism is the only one permitted by law. In the cases wherethe crank is connected to the motor mechanism of the projector, in manyinstances the operator, especially toward the end of the performance,will speed the machine, and thus in many cases tear or break the filmdue to the undue strain thrown thereupon, and in any event Will causethe rapid production of the images upon the screen so that the desiredeffect in the production thereof is not attained, and in many instances,the public displeased. The present form of device, necessitates only theattachment of a governor actuated brake device to the train of gears ofthe projector, and the displacement of the ordinary crank with thepresent crank attachment including a resilient spring connection betweenthe crank and the main shaft, so positioned that the normal tensionthrown upon the main shaft will tend to Wind the spring thereof, suchspring being of such stiffness as under normal conditions to form adirect connection between the crank and the shaft so that the train ofgears and the film may be operated Without any undue strain, similarlyto the simple direct connected crank of the present machine. Should,however, the operator intentionally or otherwise force the crank tospeed the mechanism, the spring will be wound and thus permit themovement of the crank Without unduly affecting the main shaft of themachine, and without speeding the film, the governor being actuated tooperate the brake and thus maintain the speed .of the film regardless ofWhether the crank is operated with a steady pressure or with anintermittent pressure. With the present device it has been found evenwhen the crank is operated by intermittent movement, the governordevices maintain the film at a predetermined speed, the undue retardanceof the main shaft, bringing the mechanism to a standstill, so that thefilm is checked both against a too rapid or a too slow movement.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of ayielding power storing connection interposed between a speed controlleddriven element and a driving element, whereby power is received from thedriving and distributed to the driven element regardless of whether thedriving element is operated at a steady or pulsating speed, the drivingelement in this instance and preferably being manually operated andhaving no retarding means or retrograde movement preventing means,thereby necessitating the gripping thereof manually to insure the properaction from the power storing connection to the driven element.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details. of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the. drawings Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a projector, with thepresent invention in operable relation thereto.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the governor actuated brakemechanism and through the main shaft and compensating device carriedthereby with the adjacent portion of the crank also shown in section.

Fig. 3 is. a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Figs. Land 5 are plan views of the compensating devices taken from thecrank side, Fig. 4 showing the same in normal position when the shaft isbeing operated properly, and Fig. 5 illustrating the position of thecrank when any undue strain is placed thereupon.

' sound record carrier, both of which are connected so that theprojector will operate the record carrying member.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the projectormechanism, which may be taken indicative of any form of machine ingeneral use, the same being provided with the main drive shaft 2,whichcarries the main drive gear 3, connected through the train of ears 4 tothe gear 5 of the governor sha t 6. This governor shaft 6 andits gear 5are here shown as connected at the upper portion of the projector frame,but it is to be understoodthat the same may be connected at any point ofthe train or gearing that will tend to properly govern the actuation ofthe gear or motor, to impart the desired movement to the film (notshown).

An arm or bracket 7 in this instance properly supports the governordevice and is incased in a box or casing 8, which may be of any form,but is so constructed that the person in charge may regulate thegovernor as will presently appear, and lock the casing, so that theoperator will not have access thereto to interfere with such adjustment.

The governor actuated braking disk or member 9 is disposed for movementinto and out of engagement. with the braking disk 10, a support 11 beingdisposed for carrying the oscillatory sleeve 12, whose arm 13 carriesthe adjusting screw 14, which coacts with the projection 15 to thusproperly sup-. port the braking member 9 so that the disk 10 will at apredetermined speed of the governor balls 17 be thrown into brakingenagement with the member 9, to thus reguate the speed of the gearing 4and consequently the film.

In order to provide a means that will automatically indicate to theproprietor or the manager. of the amusement enterprise, when theoperator is endeavoring to speed the machine, or when the screw 14 has,by continual use of the governor device, loosened or worn so as topermit of thespeeding of the film,

an alarm device is provided, the same including the two spring contacts16, which constitute a switch, said contacts being disposed in the athto be engaged by the governor balls 1 when the same have been extended,due to centrifugal force, to such an extent as to close the contacts,and thus through the conductor 18, the battery 19, the, audible alarm 20and the conductor 21, close the alarm circuit and thus actuate the alarm20, which is disposed at a distant point, as for instance in the ofiiceof the manager.

Connected upon the crank side of the main shaft 2 are the twospacedcollars 22 and 23, while connected at one terminal 24 to the shaft 2, isthe spring 25, the outer terminal 26 of which is connected to the casing27. This casing is so disposed about the shaft,as to move independentlythereof when the spring 25 is placed under undue strain, said spring 25,however, being of such a tension lar 23 and for independent movement ofthe shaft 2, is the sleeve 31 of the operating crank 32. It will thus beseen that the crank 32 will be capable of having movement impartedthereto independently of and without affecting the shaft 2. In order,however, to provide means for properly imparting movement to the shaft 2through the crank 32, a lug 37 is carried by the casing 27 and isdisposed in the path of the crank 32 so that when the same is moved inthe direction of the arrows, as shown in Figs.

4 and 5, the casing 27 will be rotated, and

through the spring 25 will impart the desired rotation to the shaft 2.Should the crank be moved in the opposite direction, the pawl 34 willhave its hooked end 35 forced into engagement with one or the,

other of the teeth 29 of the disk 28, due to the riding of theprojection 36 upon the cam portion 30thereof and thus lock the crank 32and the casing 27 for simultaneous moi ement without affecting thespring 25.

It will thus be seen that as the crank 32 is operated in the properdirection, that the lug 37, casing 27, and spring 25 will operate theshaft 2. The spring 25 is of such tension as to offer sufficientresistance during the normal actuation of the crank 32 and thereforeimpart to the shaft 2 and the film of the projector, the desired speed.

Such speed as before noted is controlled.

through the governor actuated device so that the film is moved due tosuch adjustment of the governor actuated brake regardless of the powerexerted upon the crank 32. Thus should the operator throw undue strainupon the crank 32, the lug 37 will cause the casing 27 to be rotatedplacing the spring 25 under tension and winding the same, such springthus compensating for the extra exertion placed upon the crank 32without accelerating the motion of the shaft 2 and consequently themovement of the film, the governor actuating device operating to movethe disk 10 and thus maintain the proper speed in the film, even,however, should the main shaft 2 be slightly speeded or accelerated. Theresilient connection, that is the spring 25 between the drum or casing27 and the shaft 2 due to any sudden impulse imparted to the handle 32,will relieve the mechanism of the projector from any jar that would tendto tear the film, should the operator either intentionally or otherwiseendeavor'to speed the machine as is often the case when the last reelsare being exhibited.

This mechanism also provides a means whereby the production of theimages may be properly regulated so as to produce the best results andso that the movement or passage of the film through the machine may betimed to an exactness and the proprietor thus protected as to satisfyinghis patrons, while the film owner is protected against the tearing andbreaking of films which in many cases happen due to the undue strainthrown thereupon in speeding the inachine. The resilient connection orspring 25, also provides a means which cushions the initial starting ofthe machine, so that even should the operator jerk the crank-32 in suchinitial starting, a cushioned motion will be imparted to the motor andfilm without throwing undue stress upon the film, that would tend inmany instances to break or tear the same.

In many cases, where a sound record carrier is connected so that thedisk or record platform thereof is operated from the mech anism of theprojector, it is desired that the speed of the disk platform bemaintained so that the same will operate in exact synchronism orconsonance with the'movement of the film, and in order to accomplishthis, the arrangement as shown in Fig. 7,, is employed.

In this instance, the compensating device 38 is mounted upon the maindrive shaft 2 of the projector mechanism P while a shaft 39 is operablyconnected to the train of gears 4 of the projector, and carries an arm40 which in reality acts similarly to the crank 32' in transmittingmotion from the projector mechanism through the compensating device 42to the record carrying platform 43, mounted in the casing 44. A governordevice 45 connected to the. operating mechanism of the sound recordcarrier 43 operates similarly to the governor actuated brakehereinbefore described. It will also benoted that a similar governoractuated brake device is carried by the projector P and that thereforethe projector P will be maintained so that its film (not shown) will bemoved at the desired speed, while the compensating device 42 will formthe connection be tween the projector and sound record carrier,said'sound record carrier being controlled by the governor device 45'and in a similar manner to the governor device heretofore described forthe projector. I

By this means it will be seen that should the train of gears 4 of theprojector be speeded that the governor device r45 of the sound recordcarrier will regulate the speed of the record disk. platform 43 thereof,while the governor device of the projector will control the movement ofthe film as in the structure heretofore described.

What is claimed is-:

1. A power storing and transmitting attachment, including a shaft, aspiral spring having one end connected thereto, a crank mounted upon themain shaft for limited independent forward and reverse movements, andcoiiperable means carried by the outer end of the spring and thecrankfor connecting the crank and the shaft through the &

spring, the tendency of the crank in normal operating direction being towind the spring and the spring being of such a stiffness as to undernormal conditions form a direct connection between the crank and theshaft.

2. A power storing and transmitting attachment, includinga shaft, aspiral spring having one end secured to the shaft, a casing surroundingthe shaft and independently movable relatively thereto, said casingbeing connected to the outer end of the spring, a crank mounted forlimited independent oscillatory movement upon the main shaft, and meansfor connecting the crank to the casing whereby the spring forms aconnecting medium between the crank and the shaft.

3. A power storing and transmitting attachment, including a shaft, aspring having one end secured to the shaft, a casing surrounding theshaft and independently movable relatively thereto, said casing beingconnected to the outer end of the spring, a

crank mounted for limited independent oscillatory movement upon the mainshaft, means for connecting the crank to the easing whereby the springforms a connecting medium between the crank and the shaft, andcooperable means carried by the shaft and the crank to limit theunwinding movement of the spring relatively to the crank.

4. A power storing and transmitting attachment, including a shaft, aspring having one end secured to the shaft, a casing surrounding theshaft and independently movable relatively thereto, said casing beingconnected to the outer end of the spring, a crank mounted forindependent movement upon the main shaft, means for connecting the crankto the casing whereby the spring forms a connecting medium between thecrank and the shaft, a toothed cam mounted upon and rotatable with theshaft adjacent to the crank, and a pawl carried by the crank and inengagement with the toothed cam for limiting the unwinding movement ofthe crank and permitting a slight forward movement of the crank whenundue strain is thrown thereupon.

5. The combination with a driven mechanism having a governor brakeoperably connected thereto, of a variable driving mechanism for thedriven mechanism including a shaft, a coil spring having one endconnected to the shaft, a casing, rotatably mounted upon the shaft andhaving the opposite end of the spring connected thereto, a lugprojecting from said casing, a crank mounted upon said shaft adjacent tothe casing for free limited oscillatory movement, said shaft beingadapted to engage the lug to connect the crank to the casing for forwardmovement, and cooperable means connected to the shaft and to the crankfor limiting the movement of the crank in the opposite direction.

6. The combination with a driven mechanism having a governor brakeoperably connected thereto, of a variable driving mechanism for thedriven mechanism mcluding a shaft, a coil spring having one endconnected to the shaft, a casin rotatably mounted upon the shaft andhaving the opposite end of the spring connected thereto, a lugprojecting from said casing, a crank mounted upon said shaft adjacent tothe casing for free limited oscillatory movement, said shaft beingadapted to engage the lug to connect the crank to the casing for forwardmovement, cooperable means connected to the shaft and to the crank forlimiting the movement of the crank in the opposite direction, saidcooperable means including a toothed ratchet connected to the casin anda pawl mounted upon the crank and a apted to engage moved away from thelug. v

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as my own, I have ture in thepresence of two witnesses. I

CHAS. -W. EBELING.

Witnesses:

EDWARD C. REEB, SAMUEL RAUTENBERG.

hereto affixed my signa- 8'5 the ratchet when the crank is

